World Monuments Fund

Home
United States
New York, NY
World Monuments Fund

Celebrating 60 years of safeguarding irreplaceable cultural heritage.

World Monuments Fund (WMF) is the leading independent organization devoted to safeguarding the world’s most treasured places to enrich people’s lives and build mutual understanding across cultures and communities. The organization is headquartered in New York City with offices and affiliates in Cambodia, India, Portugal, Peru, Spain and the UK. Since 1965, our global team of experts has preserved the world's diverse cultural heritage using the highest international standards across more than 700 sites in 112 countries. Partnering with local communities, funders, and governments, WMF draws on heritage to address some of today’s most pressing challenges: climate change, underrepresentation, imbalanced tourism, and post-conflict recovery. With a commitment to the people who bring places to life, WMF embraces the potential of the past to create a more resilient and inclusive society.

10/07/2026

World Monuments Summit is back, and this year we’re asking: What makes cultural heritage irreplaceable?

Join us on Tue, October 27 at The New York Historical for a day of discussions with leading heritage experts and advocates from around the globe.

From the historic places of the United States and the public murals shaping urban identity to how conservation helps communities adapt to climate change, conflict, and natural disasters, we’ll explore the ways in which preservation continues to shape our world.

Register now at the link in bio 🔗

________________________________

Program:

📍 What Is Irreplaceable in America? | 1:30PM

• Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic and author
• Rosie Lee Hooks, Director,
• Brent Leggs, CEO,
Moderated by Jon Buono, Senior Regional Director, USA & Canada, WMF

📍 What Stays on the Wall? Murals, Memory, and the Future of Public Art | 2:45 PM

• Simon Castets, Executive Director,
• Renato González Mello, Art historian and researcher at
• Barbara Haskell, Art historian and curator at
• Ben Wiedel-Kaufmann, Lecturer in Art History,
Moderated by Jonathan S. Bell, Senior Vice President of Global Preservation Strategy and Director of the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute

📍 From Preservation to Sustainability: The New Landscape of Heritage Philanthropy | 4:00PM

• Coline Pont, Chief Sustainability Officer,
• William Raynolds, Program Director,
• Clément Rouxel, General Delegate, Foundation for Human Progress
• Debora Trein, Senior Director, Science,
Moderated by Bénédicte de Montlaur, President and CEO, WMF

Additional program highlights will be announced in the coming days.

The 2026 World Monuments Summit is held in conjunction with World Monuments Fund’s 2026 Hadrian Gala. Now Voyager is the official media partner of the 2026 World Monuments Summit.

10/06/2026

This Hispanic Heritage Month, discover six sites across the United States that illuminate the history and contributions of the Hispanic community.

10/01/2026

Today, we released new insights from an analysis of our 2027 World Monuments Watch nominations, a program made possible through the generous support of the Foundation for Human Progress. The major threats facing heritage sites worldwide were clear: funding shortages, the intensifying impacts of climate change, and the loss of specialized skills.

Funding constraints ranked as the leading concern, cited by 65% of nominators. Climate change followed at 54%, while the loss of expertise emerged as a growing issue, cited by 35%. Drawn from 372 nominations submitted by communities and heritage advocates around the globe, the findings offer a snapshot of the challenges confronting cultural heritage today. The 2027 Watch will be announced in February.

The analysis also shows how heritage can be part of the solution. Globally, 63% of nominators saw opportunities for heritage to support local economies through tourism, job creation, and urban and rural regeneration. Another 59% pointed to its role in engaging communities, strengthening stewardship, building local capacity, and creating shared spaces. Half identified opportunities to advance public education and research.

Explore the full findings at the 🔗 in our bio.

+++++

The AXA Foundation for Human Progress is the Lead Partner of the World Monuments Watch.

09/29/2026

On Monday, September 21, World Monuments Fund (WMF) held a panel discussion and celebration to mark its legacy in the conservation of Jerónimos Cloister and Church in Lisbon that began more than two decades ago ✨

One of Portugal's most stunning examples of late Gothic architecture, the sixteenth-century monastery has drawn widespread admiration for centuries. As the country’s most visited monument, the church has suffered from the continuous wear of tourism, as well as the degradation of its domes and walls over time. In partnership with the Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage, WMF participated in five phases of the ten-phase conservation program that stabilized the church's structure while allowing it to remain open to the public.

Last week's conversation brought together some of the specialists responsible for this work: Ângelo Silveira, architect of the conservation and restoration plan for the church at Património Cultural, I.P.; Fernando Henriques, member of World Monuments Fund in Portugal’s Scientific Committee; Nuno Proença, conservator-restorer at Nova Conservação; and Margarida Donas Botto, Director of the Jerónimos Monastery and of the Belém Tower. The event was moderated by Teresa Veiga de Macedo, Executive Director of WMF in Portugal and was sponsored by Victoria Seguros.

📸 Photo credit: Simão Pernas
+++++
World Monuments Fund’s work at Jerónimos Cloister, led by our Portugal office in partnership with the Public Institute of Cultural Heritage, has been made possible, in part, by support from Cimpor; EDP; Fundação Millennium bcp; Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento; Galp Energia; SGC; The Navigator Company; The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

World Monuments Fund’s work at Jerónimos Church, led by our Portugal office in partnership with the Public Institute of Cultural Heritage, has been made possible, in part, by support from The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; GRoW @ Annenberg Foundation; EDP; Fundação Millennium bcp; ACP - Automóvel Clube de Portugal; Team Quatro Lda.; and Grupo Brisa.

09/25/2026

Frank Lloyd Wright called Mexico's Estadio Olimpico Universitario stadium one of the “greatest works of the present and future architecture.” The renowned artist Diego Rivera described it as “an architecturalized crate.” It was Rivera himself who designed the monumental mural that is the face of the extraordinary structure 🏟️

Made of volcanic stone, Rivera’s high relief The University, the Family, and Sport in Mexico depicts a family beneath the wings of a condor and eagle, flanked by two figures lighting Olympic torches, and with Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent at the group's feet.

Supported by the U.S. Department of State's Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation Freedom 250 initiative, World Monuments Fund and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México will collaborate to safeguard Rivera’s legendary mural.

09/24/2026

As decision-makers gather in New York City for Climate Week, World Monuments Fund is proud to co-host a dynamic event with Heritage Adapts! and Preserving Legacies that will bring together heritage leaders, climate experts, policymakers, and site stewards to share and reflect on heritage's role in a more climate-resilient future. 🌳

Since 1965, WMF has been tackling the most pressing problems facing historic sites around the world. Recently, this means focusing on climate-related threats to heritage places as rainfall patterns change, severe storms increase, and sea levels rise. In 2024, we launched our Climate Heritage Initiative to redouble our commitment to using heritage preservation as a climate solution.

Our mission is simple: We collaborate with local communities and use both innovative methods and traditional knowledge to help irreplaceable heritage adapt for the future.

# # #
📸 1. Aymara farmers working in one of Peru’s Waru Waru agricultural fields. Photo credit: DDC Puno.
📸 2. Historic Water Systems of the Deccan Plateau, India. Photo credit: Joginder Singh.
📸 3. View of the artifitial islands or raised fields, a pre-Hispanic landscape created by the Xochimilca and Chalca peoples in Mexico City, Mexico. Photo credit: George Steinmetz.
📸 4. View of Hurst Castle, Lymington, United Kingdom. Photo credit: ExploringWithin on YouTube.

09/21/2026

G'mar chatimah tovah! ✡️

In honor of Yom Kippur, World Monuments Fund (WMF) is spotlighting synagogues we’ve worked at around the globe.

Pictured:
📸 1. Subotica Synagogue, Serbia – this synagogue is among the most impressive examples of art nouveau religious architecture.
📸 2. Congregation of Jacob Synagogue, United Kingdom – one of east London’s few remaining synagogues and the first Mizrahi Synagogue in Britain.
📸 3. Shaaré Tikva Synagogu, Portugal – this synagogue served as the center of Jewish life in Lisbon and was a sanctuary for the thousands of Jewish refugees who passed through Portugal during World War. II.
📸 4. Fabric Synagogue of Timișoara, Romania – WMF is working with partners to transform this turn-of-the-century synagogue into a vibrant cultural center in Romania. Photo courtesy of Iwan Baan.
📸 5. Central Izmir Synagogues, Türkiye – consisting of nine adjacent synagogues constructed in diverse sixteenth century Sephardic styles, the Central Izmir Synagogues serve the Jewish population of Izmir.

09/19/2026

Renowned for its architecture, this sixteenth-century monastery stands for its impressive single-nave plan Church and for its elegant decoration, combining decorative elements derived from the Late Gothic with a range of influences that would come to shape the Manueline style, showing a decorative scheme dominated by royal and religious symbols alongside naturalistic, fantastical and mythological elements of great iconographic richness.

World Monuments Fund (WMF) partnered with Portugal's Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage to preserve and revitalize this royal monastery. Efforts included the careful cleaning of stone surfaces to remove biological growth and the restoration of stained-glass windows, helping to safeguard the monument for visitors from all over the world.

An event on September 21 sponsored by Victoria Seguros will celebrate the completion of this ambitious conservation project and honor Jerónimos's enduring cultural legacy.

# # #

World Monuments Fund’s work at Jerónimos Cloister, led by our Portugal office in partnership with the Public Institute of Cultural Heritage, has been made possible, in part, by support from Cimpor; EDP – Eletricidade de Portugal, S.A.; Fundação Millennium bcp; Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento; Galp Energia; SGC SGPS; The Navigator Company; The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

World Monuments Fund’s work at Jerónimos Church, led by our Portugal office in partnership with the Public Institute of Cultural Heritage, has been made possible, in part, by support from The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust; Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg; EDP - Energias de Portugal S.A.; Fundação Millennium bcp; ACP - Automóvel Clube de Portugal; Team Quatro Lda.; and Grupo Brisa.

09/17/2026

🏝️ An island with no permanent residents since 1990, and 4,000 years of history.
Failaka Island sits in the Gulf off the coast of Kuwait City, with an archaeological record reaching back to the 3rd millennium BCE. Bronze Age settlements, a Hellenistic fortress and temple, an early-Christian monastery, historic mosques, and 20th-century village architecture all survive there. Evacuated during the Gulf War and largely uninhabited since, the island has retained a rare and exceptionally intact cultural landscape.

WMF is partnering with Kuwait's National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters () to develop conservation and site management plans for Failaka, along with interpretation and sustainable tourism strategies shaped with local stakeholders. Together, we are also preparing the nomination of the island for inscription on the World Heritage List.

Explore our newest project at the 🔗 in our bio.

Page 1: Mohammad Al-Bannay Mosque (NCAAL/WMF)
Page 2: Aerial of Failaka Island (Shutterstock)
Page 3: (top) Shaikh Ahmed Al Jaber Rest House located on Tell Sa'ad with Dilmun remains; (bottom) Modern houses of north Az-Zor village (NCAAL/WMF)
Page 4: Hellenistic fortress remains (NCAAL/WMF)

09/15/2026

✨ For the first time in more than 50 years, the great marble arch of the Salone Dorato (Golden Room) at Milan's Museo Poldi Pezzoli can be seen again, marking the completion of the room's restoration.

Designed by collector Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli to display the finest works of his Italian Renaissance collection, the room was badly damaged by bombing in 1943. In 1974, a new ceiling lowered by one meter concealed its upper section and left two Flemish tapestries from 1602 with nowhere to hang.

World Monuments Fund and the Museo Poldi Pezzoli () partnered to restore the room to its original proportions and bring the tapestries and an 18th-century Venetian mirror back into place, with museum director Alessandra Quarto and Piero Guicciardini leading the restoration. It is the first project of WMF's new office in Italy.

//

✨ Per la prima volta in oltre 50 anni torna visibile il grande arco marmoreo del Salone Dorato del Museo Poldi Pezzoli di Milano, a conclusione del restauro della sala.

Ideato dal collezionista Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli per accogliere le opere più preziose della sua raccolta rinascimentale italiana, il Salone fu gravemente danneggiato dai bombardamenti del 1943. Nel 1974 un nuovo soffitto, abbassato di un metro, ne nascose la parte superiore e lasciò senza collocazione due arazzi fiamminghi del 1602.

World Monuments Fund e il Museo Poldi Pezzoli () hanno collaborato per restituire alla sala le sue proporzioni originarie e per ricollocare gli arazzi e una specchiera veneziana del XVIII secolo. Il restauro è stato guidato dalla direttrice del museo Alessandra Quarto e da Piero Guicciardini. È il primo progetto della nuova sede italiana del WMF.

Address

600 5th Avenue
New York, NY
10020

Website

http://wmf.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when World Monuments Fund posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Featured

Heart River Center for Intuitive Healing

Want your organization to be the top-listed non profit organization in New York?